Colourful Chinese New Year Gala celebrations are spectacular success
The Chinese Lunar New Year was celebrated in style as York’s Chinese community gathered for a dazzling gala evening at the University of York.
The Grand Chinese New Year Gala, organised by the York Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), is the Chinese community’s biggest annual event in York. A 350-strong audience enjoyed a colourful night of spectacle, dance and music, as artists took to the stage of the Sir Jack Lyons Hall on the University campus.
The celebrations
heralding the Year of the Rabbit on Sunday, February 20 saw the return of the Jin
Long Chinese Martial Arts Academy to York. The academy’s traditional Lion
Dance, Chinese martial arts, acrobatics and Hard Chi Gong have been a highlight
of the annual event since 2006.
The gala also included a special performance by The 24, a progressive vocal group from the University of York’s Department of Music, and Chinese folk dancing, song and comic dialogue by Chinese students studying in York.
Peter Zhang, Honorary President of the York CSSA and Personal Assistant to the President of the UK CSSA, said: “The gala is designed to make the increasing numbers of Chinese students studying in York feel at home and is the perfect chance to bring the whole of the York Chinese community together.
“The annual gala is always open to all and the traditional programme provides an enjoyable insight into our culture for people from across York.”
Special guests at the event included the Lord Mayor of York Councillor Susan Galloway, Sheriff of York Councillor Richard Watson, and representatives of the organisations supporting the event - the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Manchester, the University of York and York St John University.
Hilary
Layton, Director of Internationalisation at the University of York, said: “The
Chinese community generously shares its most important festival with people in
York each year. The Chinese New Year Gala brings a flavour of home to all
the Chinese students at the colleges and universities in York, and it is an
important component of the developing cultural ties between York and
China.
“The University of York announced a new cultural exchange programme with China – The Jiangning Foundation – last year, and I’m very pleased that this wonderful display of Chinese culture took place on our campus this year.”
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